Beater Volvo 240 and it's quest against the odds to visit all 50 states

v6buicks

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Of course the 240 would wait until it was in dire straits to finally reveal it's big secret. How on earth did this thing ever run?!
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So that's the spark? Where did the fuel come from?
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Yep, that'll do it. ?‍♂️

Since I'm no longer relying on this car to get anybody to work, I ignored my sloppiness and took my time repairing these obvious issues nicely.
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I don't have any pictures of the comparison. You wouldn't be able to see it anyway, but the new FPR was made in a way which allows the oring to roll instead of squeezing into the ID of the fuel rail. I installed the old FPR since it worked fine, but this is another classic case of nobody making nice parts for Volvo anymore.

....moment of truth ?

She runs without leaks! Very smoothly too.
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I even fixed the second (and final!) leak in the cruise control. The hose to the actuator was barely engaged on the nipple causing intermittent leaks. It works like a dream now.
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So WTF am I supposed to do now?!

This little ASSHOLE lights itself on fire four days ago, makes me buy a brand new car, and now it's taking me to work like it never had any problems. :LOL:

Allie and I are both torn on the subject. Before any of this happened the plan was originally to buy a Rav4 to replace the C30. Then I would split the daily driving between the 240 and Camaro. The C30 has a much better record in terms of reliability than both of those cars combined. However, at 199k miles, how long can I expect that record to continue? The difference ends up being that I just fix the 240 and Camaro whenever it's convenient and everything works out. When the C30 "acts up" I ALWAYS have to order parts online. It also tends to throw a tantrum to point where it needs to be towed and won't let me drive it anywhere until it's fixed 100%. Sure, I will have the Camaro to pick up the slack, but will it be ready when push comes to shove? I also have no desire to keep the C30. It's an appliance to me, and I already have a car payment. If it dies, I really don't want a second payment.

On the other hand, the 240, while very simple to fix, ALWAYS needs to be fixed. Something is always wrong or quickly corroding. The fire scared the shit out of us which was why the knee-jerk reaction was to get rid of this thing. I think we would both regret doing that within a month or two though. We love this car. It just doesn't seem to fill the duties we had assigned it. I need to remember that it hasn't left us stranded yet, but each long trip we have taken in this thing since last years Smokey Mountain adventure has been increasingly stressful. The stress defeats the point of a "fun adventure car". It's also part of chasing that roadkill dream...

Dang.

I can talk in circles all day long, but there's only one thing for certain. I can't make a decision until the Camaro is drivable. Until then, I need to split the daily duties between the two Volvos. As much as I don't NEED another project, I knew from the start that we were buying a 240 to eventually slam it and boost it or swap it. I will change my mind a million times before things get serious. Even then, I probably won't know what the correct decision is. As of now though, I think I need to stick with my gut, watch the C30 hit 200k, shed a quick tear, sell it, and never look back. The 240 is part of the family like an old dog. No, it doesn't do much. It's not good for a whole lot either, but we've been through too much to put him down. There's a chance that it can keep kicking with this new distributor long enough for us to move into that massive garage I need to restore all my cars and keep the daily's mint. I have less faith in the C30 doing the same.

One more defense for the 240. I'm prepared if this ever happens again. :LOL: One for the car, and a replacement for the garage.
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v6buicks

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Just glad to read nothing is disappearing. I half expected this bump to say the 240 was buhbye.

View attachment 97774
I hit the lowest of lows and then possibly went immediately to the highest of high. I can't quit now. I'm recalculating MPG to see if I fixed that issue as well. It's very possible. If it's back to normal, I'll commence with floor repair and remote locks. Then I might reconsider selling again in the spring. I still have dreams of supercharging and converting all the accessories to serpentine, but if I can't even get the thing to run right stock I'm going to let it go and consider saving up for another old Buick.
 

v6buicks

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I just put new front brakes and wheel bearings on the car, drove it around a little for the first time in a couple weeks, and realized that the car will just never get to be what I want it to be as long as I have two other toys and a tiny garage. I listed it on Facebook to get a bit more visibility, and I'm getting a lot of bites. There's actually a guy coming all the way from Bloomington, IN tonight to give it a look. I guess I have some cleaning and packing of spare parts to do. ?

I've never gotten rid of a car that I liked so much. There are a couple I sometimes wish I could have back, but I think this one is gonna sting for a while.
 

v6buicks

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I hope I don't regret this down the road. I think the worst case will be that I miss taking it on short drives, but not the constant wrenching. I can be glad that I gave the car a second lease on life.

I have a strange bond with these though. If the right 245, Amazon wagon, or PV come around at the right time. It's hard to say if I'll come crawling back for more or not.
 

v6buicks

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I’d be partying


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There are definitely a lot of issues in the garage that are contributing to my automotive sadness. I do believe that getting the Camaro back on the road with so much space to work (and clean) and no other cars to necessarily "worry" about will have me looking nowhere but forward. It'll be awesome to say "Sweet, let's drive." instead of completely switching gears and jumping right into a Volvo floor board and rocker replacement that lasts all winter long. I've been dreading that job along with many others for such a long time that the reality of not needing to fuck with any of it hasn't hit me yet.

That is absolutely worth celebrating! :) Thanks for being a voice of reason. I need it.
 
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